Kevin Ford on space mission with Russia

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Three return from space station

It became the standard mode of transportation to the station after the deadly 2003 Columbia space shuttle accident.

The modern version, the Soyuz TMA, is made of three parts. Two of them jettison then burn upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA. Only the Descent Module will land on Earth, carrying Commander Kevin Ford of NASA, Russian Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy and Russian Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin.

NASA TV will broadcast the undocking and landing live.

The undocking of the Soyuz will mark the beginning of the 35th ISS mission, which awaits the arrival of two more Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut in two weeks.

The journey up to the station takes longer than the return trip to Earth, NASA said. The Soyuz needs a total of two days to catch up with the ISS in its orbit.